DefinitelyDressage.com

It's summer and once again I work hard to keep my Sweet Itch pony, Chase happy ……so….. just in case there is some new product(s) that I may need to try …

What are you all doing to combat sweet itch?

Here's what I do with Chase…

He is covered from his nose to his hocks when he is in the pasture (Bug Buster Fly Sheet), only out during the day. He comes in early evening and goes out in the morning (usually after 9)
Feed:
Low carb pellet, no sweet feed Not much feed…after all this is a pony.
Hay

Supplements:
Fish Oil Powder (with stabilized flax seed)
Bye Bye Itch (This supplement alone made the biggest difference in him when I started him on it years ago….within two weeks I saw a difference)
Vitamin E/Vitamin C Powder
Bee Pollen (Almost out of Bee Pollen and thinking about trying to see what happens if he doesn't have this supplement, since I added Fish Oil Powder and Vitamin E/Vitamin C a few weeks ago)

Shampoo
Medicated Shampoo with Neem Oil/Tea Tree

Lotion
Bye Bye Itch Lotion
Phytobalm cream

I know what worked last year may not work this year. He looks pretty good this summer but it's an everyday priority to make sure he is okay.

I have read good things about KillItch - expensive but supposedly very effective.

Thanks! I will check it out! Trust me all those supplements are not cheap.

Canyon….Just finished reading about it, thank you so much….I will be ordering it. Sounds like a much needed answer to a very frustrating problem for horses. As much as I have tried to keep up on Sweet Itch solutions, I never heard about Killitch.

Isn't this the best part of Definitely Dressage….ask a question and getting some much needed advice!

I have a retired horse that I only see once a week or less. He wears a Hug fly sheet because it fits him best in the shoulder. But I wish it had a belly band. Then he wears these fly boots http://www.sstack.com/horse-blankets-an ... oots-blue/
They are the first ones that I've found that stay up and don't trap dirt and sand. For the first time in years, his legs aren't a bloody mess or rubbed raw by sand caught in the fleece.
I used to give him lots of Nutraflax which did help. This year I switched to http://www.scahealth.com/ultracruz-equi ... ement.html and also 500 mg of niacinamide every day. And once a week he gets sprayed with Ecovet.
This combination has been the best thing ever for him. He almost looks like a normal horse!

Thanks Goldhorse,

The fly boots look great, I have been looking for some that will stay up. I have not hear of UltraCruz so I will look into it. And I do spray with Ecovet, I really like it. My farrier was quite impressed with Ecovet the first time I used it when he came to trim. I sprayed the horses and the flies simply left and did not return.

Thanks.

Silverado-
Try the niacinamide. 500 mg a day. I buy it on Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N8425O4/re ... iacinamide I read about it on a British website about sweetitch. It is the active ingredient in this product http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Cavalesse-Sa ... AVALESSES/ which is not available in the US. I talked to the head dermatologist at UC Davis about it and he said the reports have been so so on its effectiveness but worth a try. At 5 cents a day, it's a no-brainer.
His other advice which is what we sweet itch owners all know:
Cover your horse head to toe with a fly barrier.
Allergy shots (after testing these would be once every one to 2 weeks so I declined)
Fly spray.
Flax seed.

Another sweet itch horse owner here. For my guy it also turned into head shaking. I've tried almost everything, including medication. What is working for us is homeopathic remedies weekly. I also use Killitch when needed (LOVE that product). Last year my guy didn't have any hair on the top of his tail or the midsection of his mane. This year he has barely rubbed at all, and I've used the Killitch when he has. I also give him extra magnesium during the summer but hard to tell if it's helping.

I give him Hypernicum and Arsenicum Album for the head shaking. For the sweet itch I give him Colocynthis and Calendula.

My neighbour had a shire with sweet itch. They ordered her a Boett fly sheet that worked well to protect her body.

I ordered Kill Itch and it will be here tomorrow, and I am hoping to get the Nicinamide tomorrow also. I thought about ordering a Boett fly sheet but right now the Bug Buster Fly sheet seems to working great.

I sincere appreciate all the posts and suggestions.

Has any used Equishield IBH spray? Did you like it?